Daily Roundup: Left hand, meet right hand

By scott_dagostinoOct 14, 2009, 9:46 AM EDT

Let's face it — even when they're not wiping their boogers everywhere, straight men can be very confusing. They'll say they're very uncomfortable with being hit on by a gay guy but then turn around and drop their pants for ESPN, the sports magazine with enough female fans to make up 17% of their readership. That's like appearing in Chatelaine because you want to appeal to truck drivers (17%!).

But if "The Body Issue" convinces members of the Edmonton Oilers to pose for shots like this, well, I'm not complaining:

But for an extreme example of a straight guy wrestling with the divide between respecting human rights vs. his own homophobia. Buju Banton, dancehall reggae star and target of worldwide murder music protests, finally met with gay activists to discuss how not to be a hatemongering thug but still couldn't agree to a single one of their ideas, probably because he is a hatemongering thug.

Sometimes such a divide can work though — like in this Guardian UK article that manages to be both an intriguing look at current record industry woes and a bitchy slapdown of Perez Hilton. It can be done!

But in the end, we're all divided in some way or another. This blog, for instance, loves to celebrate queer Canada but can't quite bring itself to proclaim Toronto YouTube performer Tonetta the next big thing. Perhaps you won't be so conflicted: